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Photo by Nicole Aufderhar
David Motzenbecker, president of the city’s Planning Commission, is behind the idea for a wiki on the North Loop Master Plan. It will allow area stakeholders to weigh in on development guidelines for the neighborhood.
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Development update: North Loop Master Plan pilots a wiki
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By Amanda Kushner
North Loop Master Plan pilots a wiki
In efforts to increase engagement in the North Loop Master Plan, a wiki will allow stakeholders to edit the document during the 45-day review period starting on Dec. 7, said David Motzenbecker, president of the city’s Planning Commission and a landscape architect with Oslund and Associates.
The North Loop Master Plan will set policy guidelines for land use and development in the North Loop.
Motzenbecker developed the idea when he began to notice a lower turnout at public meetings. He wanted to make the document available on a 24-hour basis so the public could review it while they’re having coffee on a Saturday morning or later in the evening when kids are tucked in bed.
“I think this kind of rekindles that ability of the polis, the people, to help influence decisions on where they live and engage in a new type of community forum,” he said.
The wiki will supplement e-mail responses and calls to drafts, which are other avenues in place to respond to the document, Motzenbecker said. Using new technology will target groups who aren’t targeted with standard participation methods — specifically younger generations that are accustomed to engaging in electronic medium, he said.
“Hopefully the goal is over time this type of process will help to create a better synergy in the public engagement realm,” he said.
The wiki is more than an opportunity to respond, it allows for participants to craft the document, similar to Wikipedia, he said. The wiki is open to all, and those interested can log in and then edit. Also the program tracks all changes, even if they aren’t visible in the most recently updated version of the document. This active record can help the city pinpoint areas that are constantly changed and also areas left untouched. While this is a supplement to the existing process the city will have the final say in edits or changes following the 45-day review period.
The wiki was tested on a smaller scale when an urban design chapter of a comprehensive plan was tested through the Minnesota chapter of the American Society for Landscape Architects. A personal request was sent to those in the design and planning professions to participate, and the wiki had more than 1,000 views and about 180 changes in six weeks, Motzenbecker said.
Motzenbecker’s personal goal is that a wiki will become a standard planning process where people are tapped earlier to help create ideas and agendas rather than just responding, he said.
“I strongly believe that public participation is going this direction, and I think cities and municipalities that don’t embrace this type of style of public engagement are going to be left behind,” he said.
The wiki is hosted on the North Loop Neighborhood Association’s website at northloop.org or go to northloopsap.wetpaint.com/.
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Looking for free space?
For any business owner looking for office space Downtown, check out the 701 Building give-away from CB Richard Ellis. The grand prize for the give-away is a free 2,010-square-foot office space with a signed lease in 2010 through the end of the year. The value of the space is $40,000.
“We are just trying to see what we could do to stimulate activity in the Minneapolis market,” said Erin Fitzgerald Wendorf. CB Richard Ellis devised the program based on what the government has done with other stimulus packages such as cash for clunkers and for new homebuyers, she said.
The 701 recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation where the landlord made improvements that catered to business operation needs, she said.
“This offer is really just an extension of that. It is just really doing what we as landlords can do to help the businesses in our building succeed,” Wendorf said.
Since announcing the giveaway there has been a groundswell of activity, she said.
The building has about 120,000 square feet of vacant space, and within that there are about six different offices ranging in size that could be leased as they are today.
Representatives can enter the give-away through Dec. 31 when they come for a showing. The winner will be determined Jan. 7 at a noon luncheon, and the giveaway is tied to a 3-year lease. For those attending that are not the winner a new tenant stimulus package is available. As part of the package tenants can choose free voice and data installation or reimbursed moving expenses.
To schedule an appointment to win call Wendorf at 353-2113.
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NAI Welsh to lease 100, 111 Washington Square
Hines has hired NAI Welsh to lease office towers 100 and 111 Washington Square. The 100 Washington Ave. building is 22 stories and is designed by Minoru Yamasaki, and 111 Washington Ave. is 12 stories and designed by BWBR Architects. Welsh is headquartered in Minnetonka.
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Carmichael Lynch drops Harley account
UPDATED August 30, 2010, 2:29pm
By Gregory J. Scott
When it comes to selling muscle bikes, three decades is enough. Downtown advertising agency Carmichael Lynch announced August 23 that it was resigning from its Harley-Davidson account, ending a relationship of 31 years with the iconic motorcycle brand. In a prepared statement, Doug Spong, president of Carmichael Lynch, said, "Our agency leadership came to the consensus that we've taken the Harley-Davidson brand as far as we can. It's in our best interest to part ways." Mark-Hans Richer, Harley’s CMO, said, "Our strategies have been moving away from a singular consumer target and a one-size-fits-all agency solution. Rather than accept this new reality, Carmichael Lynch chose a different path and we respect that." The
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Community notebook :: Florence Court apartments
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
At Florence Court, new apartments up, courtyard staysThe mid-August groundbreaking came and went quietly for the FloCo Fusion Apartments, a chic rebranding of a ramshackle cluster of student housing near the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus. Despite years of resistance from current residents, the new building is officially going up, fanfare or no. Florence Court, as the community used to be called, is one of the oldest apartment buildings in the Midwest, dating back to 1886. The L-shaped structure sits at the intersection of 10th Avenue SE and University Avenue, but is tucked back from the street, hidden until recently behind a BP gas station. The 33-unit complex surrounds a leafy courtyard, which its residents — a colorful
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Watching out for the homeless
By Sarah McKenzie
// Volunteer outreach worker Jerry Fleischaker honored with prestigious McKnight award //After Jerry Fleischaker’s wife died of Alzheimer’s disease, he came across a newspaper article about St. Stephen’s Human Services’ work reaching out to homeless people with mental health issues. The story inspired him to start volunteering for St. Stephen’s. Now the 79-year-old retired pharmaceutical sales representative volunteers full time for the Downtown-based organization. “My wife died of Alzheimer’s in 2002. I saw the care she needed,” Fleischaker told Monica Nilsson, director of street outreach and community education for St. Stephen’s. “I was haunted by the thought that people might be
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Downtown visioning session looks to 2025
By jake weyer
// Whether to add a park north of Central Library will be part of the discussion, meant to produce a 15-year plan for Downtown //It’s been nearly 15 years since Downtown business leaders got together with city staff and elected officials to hash out a long-term plan for the area. Back in 1996, those stakeholders came up with Downtown 2010, a vision that included such grandiose plans as a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, a light rail line along Hiawatha Avenue, a new Central Library, completion of the Target Center and the development of the Downtown Improvement District — all realities today. “We’re standing now, planless,” said Sam Grabarski, president of the Downtown Council. “And a lot of good
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A mountain out of a bronze molehill?
By Gregory J. Scott
// The Sid Hartman statue stirs debate about public memorials Downtown //
OK, no one disputes that the guy deserves a statue. Sid Hartman, the nonagenarian sportswriter who has spent the last 65 years reporting for the Star Tribune and WCCO, is probably getting bronzed. The Department of Public Works is ironing out technical details for installing a metallic Sid replica, complete with TV reporter microphone and newspaper tucked under the arm, right outside of Target Center and a block from the Twins stadium, at the corner of 6th Street and 1st Avenue. The Public Works assessment is the final stage in a roughly six-week approval process to get the statue out into the public. No one’s upset about that. As Nick Legeros, the artist who designed
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Biz buzz :: Construction costing Elliot Park businesses
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
For Elliot Park businesses, street improvements come with a price
True to its motto, Band Box Diner can turn “grease into a feast.” But the Elliot Park gem can’t make much out of the road construction that’s transformed its streetscape into a scarred industrial zone.
The throw-back diner is one of the businesses standing to benefit from a sweeping, 15-block reconstruction of Chicago Avenue South — if only it can survive through to the project’s completion.
“It’s kind of like, if you have a half hour for lunch, and then you get lost for 45 minutes, what are you gonna do?” says Brad Ptacek, who has operated the diner for the last 13 years.
Ptacek’s breakfast
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